Word at Work January 21 2012

Word at Work January 21 2012

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21
Scripture: Acts 4:23-30

Acts 4:24-26 says, “So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: ‘Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: “Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.”‘” In Acts 4 the early church found themselves in parallel circumstances as described in Psalm 2. So they agreed together, in one accord, and they prayed Psalm 2:1,2. They asked for divine intervention. The question for the Spirit is, should we follow this pattern? They were asking God to intervene, to give them boldness to stand up for what was right and to stretch out His Hand to heal, and then to do signs and wonders. When the early church prayed in Acts 4, the New Testament was not yet written! So we go to the Old Testament to define signs and wonders. Twelve of the fourteen appearances of those words used together all deal with the very same event. “Signs and wonders” refers to what Moses executed in Egypt that brought the people out. The early church was asking for the judicial Christ! They were asking for the Hand of God to bring judgments against the leaders who were opposing them. They had plenty of examples of what God could do to leaders who were subverting His will and purpose. Moses did it numerous times in Egypt. The early church asked for the judicial Christ to show up. What is wrong with us? Oh – I know – we have been taught that God doesn’t do that anymore. We have been taught that we are supposed to “turn-the-other-cheek” and let evil rule. I wonder why the early church did not have that mindset. I wonder why the early church asked God to intervene for them like He did in Egypt. The difference between the early church and us is, they knew the God of the Bible and they understood their Messiah would put their enemy in the grave. They asked Him to do it. I think it is time we started asking for biblical signs and wonders.